Di Wu, from China, but 22, has a masterful onstage presence. Tonight she was attired in a stunning red dress. Ms. Wu debuted in 2005 at Weill Recital Hall and has performed in Minnesota, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy. Upcoming events include those in England and China. Ms. Wu has won the 2000 Great Neck Young Musician Competition and the 2005 Hilton Head International Piano Competition. Ms. Wu graduated from Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Gary Graffman, and is currently a Masters student at Juilliard. She opened tonight’s Bösendorfer New York Artist Salon with Haydn’s Andante and Variations in F minor. Due to cross-town traffic, I missed the first few minutes of this piece, but Professor Josephine Reiter commented that “The first of Di Wu's pieces was a set of elegant variations by Franz Joseph Haydn. It was a beautiful beginning to a fine piano program made up mostly (but not entirely) of pieces in the variation form. She has a very impressive technique and exudes enthusiasm and energy.”

The Brahms Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Books I and II were played in powerful fashion, bringing out the Bösendorfer’s fullest resonance and drama. Each melodic Variation was unique, with the slightest contrast in tone. Driven staccatos mixed with soft, dreamlike passages in seamless shifts and surprises. One mood merged to another, and this poised and passionate performer, in rapturous focus, eyes often closed, met the challenge of the oeuvre. Copland’s Piano Variations began with sharply struck keys in atonal ambiance, sometimes evoking Debussy in moody, melancholy dissonance. Ondine, from Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, was balletic and beautiful, reminiscent of the 1960 Ashton ballet film, danced by Margot Fonteyn, as Ondine. The mermaid motif was inherent in the meandering, undulating music, creating romantic and mesmerizing imagery.

Liszt’s Reminiscences de Don Juan relates to operatic reveling (Don Giovanni), at once foreboding and frightening, lyrical and playful. Again, we heard variations on one danceable, memorable theme, with tiny, but distinct contrasts in notes. The final variation was signature Ravel, in ethereal, effortless command of the music and the Bösendorfer. Di Wu, became more and more relaxed, as the evening progressed, and her audience interaction, both in the informative dialogue and the post-concert reception, was mature and magnanimous. I am sure the New York music community will hear more of Di Wu in the future. Meanwhile, check www.bosendorfernewyork.com for upcoming showroom salons, classical and jazz.